Car-azy driverless car insurance plan to cost taxpayers

Camera IconTaxpayers could be forced to pick up the insurance bill for people injured in autonomous cars.Picture: AP

Taxpayers could be forced to pick up the insurance bill for people injured in autonomous cars made by some of the world’s biggest multinational companies under a plan by Federal bureaucrats.

In a proposal that has bemused the WA Government, the National Transport Commission has suggested extending State-backed motor vehicle injury insurance to driverless cars to ensure victims were not left in limbo.

Under the NTC’s plan, State governments would have to pay out passengers of autonomous cars injured in crashes and seek to recover those costs from the manufacturers of the vehicles.

But the NTC has drawn fire from the Insurance Commission of WA, which runs the State’s compulsory third-party motor vehicle insurance scheme.

Uber Technologies Inc., which halted its self-driving car program after the death of a pedestrian in March, will return one or two self-driving cars to public roads in Pittsburgh on Thursday, the company said.

The West Australian

VideoUber Technologies Inc., which halted its self-driving car program after the death of a pedestrian in March, will return one or two self-driving cars to public roads in Pittsburgh on Thursday, the company said.

According to ICWA, which opposes the NTC’s proposal, shifting liability for injuries caused by autonomous vehicle crashes would leave taxpayers on the hook for failures of private companies. It said this amounted to a subsidy for some of the world’s biggest companies, such as Tesla and Google.

ICWA also cautioned against allowing autonomous makers to self-certify the safety of their cars, saying it could provide an incentive for companies to take risks in a bid for market share.

“Amendments to expand (motor accident injury insurance) schemes to cover injuries caused by an ADS (automated driving system) would potentially have motorists providing an unquantified subsidy to multinational vehicle and technology companies,” ICWA said in a submission.

“The insurance commission favours the principle that vehicle manufacturers and the companies that introduce technology on Australian roads should be responsible for the performance of the technology and the cost of personal injury if those products fail.”

The NTC conceded State insurers may not be able to recover the costs of payouts from vehicle makers under its plans. “It is likely that ADS crashes will be more complex to establish in negligence and product liability, with the risk that costs would not be recovered,” the NTC said.